Comcast President Burke Now Top Candidate To Be Berkshire Hathaway CEO

Stephen Burke, the 51-year-old president of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), has to be the new lead choice to become CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A) when Warren Buffett retires or dies.

Burke was added to the Berkshire board. He is one of the most visible corporate executives in America because of his role at Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company. He will never become head of Comcast because Brian Roberts, son of the cable company’s founder and its CEO, is Burke’s age.

Burke is the son of legendary Capital Cities ABC president Dan Burke. Burke’s partner in operating Cap Cities was Dan Murphy, who is close to Buffett and sits on the Berkshire Hathaway board. Buffett provided most of the capital when Cap Cities bought ABC in 1985. The combined operation was purchased by Disney (NYSE:DIS) for $19 billion in 1995. Burke worked for Disney before coming to Comcast. Murphy was on the Disney board during the same period.

Burke is the right age for taking the helm of Berkshire Hathaway and has the background to run the company. He also has ties with Buffett that go back three decades